Remembering
by Cobalt Clef
Summary: When Penelo is wounded on a job, Vaan takes her to a healing house, where she meets someone she did not expect to see ever again. Will he remember? AU, disregarding Revenant Wings. First fic, please be kind!
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Penelo was uneasy. Her eyes scanned the horizon, but nothing leaped out at them. Unsurprising. Anything that leaped out to attack an airship was either stupid or strong enough to be too rare to worry about. But worry she did. Maybe it was habit by now. They'd run enough jobs as full-fledged sky pirates that she and Vaan felt at least somewhat comfortable with how things would go. But there was always that moment, that feeling, that shot of adrenaline. This time was different.

Vaan would only shrug. "You worry too much, Penelo. Relax, it'll be fine. Just like all the others. Sneak in, grab it, sneak out. Nothing to it." He put his hands behind his head and leaned to one side, totally confident. Penelo sighed. "I hope you're right, Vaan."

As they approached their destination, Penelo reviewed what she knew. It was a private residence in a remote corner of Archadia. Some rich, eccentric fellow had a rare jewel that their informant claimed belonged to his client, another rich, eccentric fellow living in Archades. Apparently, the two men had been swapping the gem for years, contriving new ways to steal it and conceal it from the other. Now, one of them had thought up the bright idea of hiring someone else to do it. So Penelo found herself flying the _Galbana_ off to who knows where, to steal a gem for an unknown client, who communicated only through an anonymous intermediary.

She sighed again. Trust Vaan to get them a job like this. She twisted her hands in her lap nervously. They were getting close. Time to get ready.

"C'mon, Penelo, you can't possibly be nervous. Look at this place, practically ripe for the taking! Do you think he'll notice if we, y'know, take one or two other things? Little things, nothing major or anything. He'd never know!" Vaan elbowed her. "You're such a worrywart, Penelo."

Penelo rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Yes, it was practically "ripe for the taking," as Vaan had said. It was a quiet, remote house, nestled in a scenic, woody area, with no visible guards but a fence. This was making her even more nervous. It was too good to be true, something had to be wrong here. But Vaan was too eager to see an easy mark. Occuria knows they'd had enough difficulties lately. Penelo knew better, but it was hard to be cautious with Vaan around. He liked to just bludgeon his way into things, and it was usually Penelo that got them out.

Vaan was tugging at her arm now. No more delaying, better get in there and find out what was really bothering her before she turned into a nervous wreck. The two quietly approached the fence, their steps silenced by a Float spell. After a quick check for defensive magic, they each slipped over the wall and darted for the building. Getting inside wasn't so easy – they had to shimmy up a tree that was too close to the house to get at a window that they could finally pry open. Penelo felt a little better after they were forced to improvise like that, though she was still on her guard. Vaan was just excited, and she had to remind him to be quiet.

The house was lavish. Expensive decorations and plush décor surrounded them, and even Penelo couldn't help but think of the price some of the items would fetch. But they had to find their prize, and it probably wouldn't be easy. With a reminder to stick to the job and a stern foot stomp, she sent Vaan to search the top floors, while she snuck down the staircase.

The main floor was easy to search - a large entranceway and receiving area, kitchen, and a dining hall with a long table with twenty seats. Penelo shook her head and wondered what it would be like to live this way. Past the kitchen, she stopped – dead end. But she at least figured that the treasure would not be on this floor, but perhaps a hidden basement. She inspected the walls, and finally found what she was looking for. A hidden door, hidden behind a trestle table in the dining room. Gently, she shoved it aside, and pried it open. The door swung wide without a sound. Bingo.

The stairs down were very dark, and Penelo hesitated. _Something's still not right here. But this is what we came for… _she thought. She descended warily. It wasn't long before she found the bottom. The faint light from the dining room above illuminated little. Again she hesitated, but this time only for a moment. She breathed a few words, and a fire spell flared in front of her, casting red, dancing light on the room. She frowned. There was nothing here.

And then, there was something there. Scythe-like arms swung menacingly, a large face grinned repulsively and an eldritch glow contrasted with the red flame. An oversoul. Penelo backed up a step. This was no easy foe with a group, let alone by herself. _Think! We fought these in the Necrohol of Nabudis!_ she thought. The undead thing began casting. _Ohhh, think Penelo! It's undead, it's weak to holy… _She gripped her mace tightly and began to cast, hoping that she would be quicker.

She was not. The oversoul unleashed an annul spell, and broke her concentration enough to interrupt her cast. "Vaan!" she shouted. "Help me! Vaan!" She took a swing with her mace, but it was easily dodged. She tried to keep moving around it, fishing for a mana potion. "Come on, come on, I know I've got one, I can't fight this thing without my Holy spell… Vaaaaan!" The oversoul struck at her viciously, connecting and knocking her over. She screamed. She threw what was in her hand at it – a hi-potion. Useless. It dodged that too, and struck at her again. She managed to roll away from it, but still caught a glancing blow.

The oversoul was casting again. Where was Vaan? She was shouting loud enough, he should be able to hear her! They never should have split up, she knew it was a setup, it was never supposed to be this easy, she should have known… She screamed as the oversoul's Aeroga spell hit her. She thought she heard Vaan shouting now, but it was too much. She slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, sorry for the wait. School keeps me busy, you know! So here's chapter 2, I hope you enjoy :)

CHAPTER 2

Penelo's eyes fluttered. Her mind felt foggy. She couldn't move. Was she dead? What had happened? She couldn't remember. She fell back into murky slumber.

Images floated past her. Dreams. The children on the streets of Rabanastre, playing and shouting. Vaan wielding a sword. A tall, tall tower. A fleet of airships engulfed by a red glow. Four humes, a Viera, and herself, walking on a beach. A long, winding sewer. Strange cities, full of strange people. And one man, a large, strong man with shaggy blond hair, wielding an axe, who looked at her with kind eyes. A name attached itself to this man. Basch. His rugged voice offering help and friendship, and she felt a longing. But there was also another man, who looked just like him. She couldn't remember his name. He had shorter hair, and was wearing menacing armor…

Finally, Penelo opened her eyes. She could swear that Basch was there, or maybe it was the other man. But no, it was only the fading dream. She gave an inward sigh and almost closed her eyes again. Basch… but he was protecting Emperor Larsa now. He was not here. It was a much different blond who sat by her bed. She opened her eyes fully and turned to look at him. "Vaan?" she croaked.

He started, as if he had been daydreaming, and then smiled at her. "Hey, you're awake." He frowned again, and scratched the back of his head. "Been a while, you know. We were getting worried. But they said you'd be fine, I just had to wait. I mean, I guess I have to trust 'em, you know, but anyway. How ya feeling?"

She smiled a little at his immediate rush of words. He _had_ been worried. "I… I'm alright, I think. I can't move much. I feel… tired. What happened? I don't remember."

"Oh, well. You were fighting that oversoul, down in the basement. Remember? In that house where we, uh, were doing the job. You know." More images flashed in her mind, but these were not dreams. She remembered a feeling of panic. "Well, I heard you shouting, and I came running. You were out cold. I didn't know what to do, it was casting on me, so I just picked you up and ran. Got you in the airship. Couldn't find any potions or phoenix downs or nothing, I think you had 'em but they're probably still in that basement. Had to find something, so I went to the nearest town. This is a healing house, they're supposed to be pretty good I guess. We've been here since yesterday."

So she'd been out for a while. She remembered everything now. The job, the uneasiness, and the trap in the basement. She was surprised they'd gotten out at all. Fighting those things before, it had taken three of them, working hard, to take one down. How could she have thought she could take it on alone? _Stupid, Penelo, stupid. Vaan may not be there to get you out next time._

Vaan was watching her. He leaned back in the chair, both hands behind his head. "Well, since I'm no good with healing spells and you're still recovering, guess you gotta stay here for a while. This place is pretty backwater, no white mages or anything, so it's all bedrest and layin' around." He paused, looked at her, then leaned forward again. "But there's something you oughta know, uh…" He trailed off, fidgeting.

Penelo smiled. She couldn't help it – he looked so serious. "What? Is the food awful or something? Is this place run by Seeq? What?" She giggled. Vaan looked exasperated. "No, I mean, there's someone…"

He trailed off again, and Penelo was about to taunt him further, but he was looking past her, at the door. She turned her head to see. Someone had walked in the door. It was an orderly, a tall and muscular-looking blond man carrying a meal tray. He set it down on the table across from her bed, and turned to face her. Penelo suppressed a gasp.

Basch?

Her heart skipped a beat. Basch was here to take care of her? But, shouldn't he be in the capital with Larsa? And why was he dressed like he worked here? Surely Basch wasn't suited to being a nurse…

The man spoke. "How are you feeling? If you are up for it, please try to eat as much of this as you can, eating will keep your strength up, and help you to heal faster. If you need anything, please ask." He nodded to Vaan in a somewhat friendly way, but did not smile. He turned, and with a slight limp, he left again.

Penelo stared after him, dumbfounded. That was not Basch, like she had initially thought.

That was Noah.

Penelo turned to Vaan. He looked uncomfortable and said nothing. She let him be, for the moment, and tried to reconcile what she had just seen in her head. Noah? Alive? She remembered, vividly, the scene on the Bahamut, when they had defeated Vayne but then had to flee, with Noah's body in tow. They had even declared him officially dead when they'd gotten back to the city! And how did he end up here, of all places? Why was he acting as a nurse, when his profession had been that of warrior? Nothing seemed to make any sense, and Penelo still felt fuzzy. She shook her head in confusion.

Vaan finally spoke up. "Yeah, crazy, huh? It's him alright, but as far as I can tell, he doesn't remember a thing. They don't even call him Gabranth or Noah or anything, they call him Dell, 'cause I guess they just named him that, he didn't know his own name. They said he just showed up one day, all but dead from injuries. They healed him, so I guess now he works here to pay 'em off. They say he's pretty good at this stuff." He spread his arms out to his sides, giving up. "More than that I dunno. Seems kinda fishy to me, but he doesn't look like he's out to get us or anything. Nice enough, doesn't smile though."

Penelo laid back, trying to absorb it all. Noah, whom they had believed to have died, was here. The job they had gotten was a trap, and she had nearly died herself. Was it coincidence, or fate, that drew them here where Noah just happened to reappear? Was it the Occuria, meddling again? Was it simply chance?

One other, more important question, nagged at her mind. She turned to Vaan, and asked, "So what now?"


End file.
